The educational system in Greece consists of kindergarten, primary school, secondary school, and higher education. Kindergarten is now mandatory and focuses on basic learning through play. Primary school lasts 6 years where students learn basics, social skills, and Greek culture and history. Secondary school has three levels over 3 years where students take courses to prepare them for higher education or their future careers, including required English courses. For higher education, students can enter a university, private college, or technology institute after passing entrance exams in their field of interest after secondary school. Some Greek students also study abroad for more experience or postgraduate degrees.

1. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF GREECE By Catherine, Persa, Marilena, Helen and Adamandiana

2. KINDERGARTEN Dear friends, First of all we must tell you that your letters were fantastic and it was nice to hear from you. Now we will tell you about the kindergarten education here in my country. We’ll start telling you that the kindergarten education wasn’t obligatory in the past, but now it is.

3. PRIMARY EDUCATION When a little child is 2-4 years old it goes to the nursery school and when it is 4-6 years old it goes to the infant school. There in the nursery or in the infant school the little children try to learn to write their names and some small, easy words. All the day the children draw with their markers or their water-colors and their paint-brushes and the rest of day they play with their toys.

4. SECONDARY EDUCATION The nursery teacher or the infant teacher tries to read them some fairytales and stories from the past. Of course the children who go to the nursery or the infant school have no homework!!! After the kindergarten education the children go to the “big school” as they call the primary school. At noon they eat their lunch all together and they talk about toys, about friends and about fairytales sometimes.

5. The primary school lasts 6 years. It’s a place where children learn the basics, make friends (some of them may last a whole life), and learn how to react and to behave to the older people. The get prepared for the things will follow in their later life, they start to create their personality. They also learn how to work all together. Boys and girls can be such a team and the members of this team will always face all the problems together.

6. The Primary school is usually a big building with a lot of classes and a big yard. Each of its classes is clean and bright and their students are always happy. They learn about our country’s civilization, history, religion and our customs. They became aware of the future and of the problems of Greece because some day they will be the men and the women who may rule this place.

7. SECONDARY EDUCATION This school consists of three classes, for 3 years. At the first class pupils embroil in those programs at the lessons: ancient greek, biology, language, literature (Modern Greek), math, geography, household economy, music, texts, Homer, religion, gym, physics, art, technology, computers, history, and different foreign languages like French, German etc. But the children have to attend English lessons at beginners or elementary level as well.

8. At the second class the lessons change and at the third class there aren’t lessons like geography and technology but there are new lessons like Euripidis’ ‘Helen’ and Schooling Profession which help them for their future. As far as I am concerned I believe that the computer data professing, which occupied with computers it is mainly for the economy in our country. The lessons stop at the end of May and for a month (20-25 days) the children are taking exams. After of these exams the students take their notes and if they have pass the class they take the suitable diploma. Those children are free to choose what they like to do when they finish school and start their own career (job). They also have the opportunity not to study for the High School (called likeio here in Greece) which follows because it’s simply not obligatory.

9. HIGHER EDUCATION In Greece students pass the Kindergarten, the primary and the secondary school. After that, they enter to the higher education. They spend four to six years there, depends on the profession they want to follow in the future.

10. Many students enter university every year. But first they need to take exams. Before that on the fifth class of secondary school (our Likeio) they take the direction they want. There are three. Each of them has six lessons according to the job they like which are taken for two years. On the last class of this school, at the end of the year they are examed to these six lessons. If they pass they enter to university, they go to private colleges or they go to Technological Education Institutes.

11. On the other hand, some Greek students study abroad. This happens because they want to have more experience, to graduate there or they go because they want to take postgraduate.